Improvement in hydraulic elevators



4Sheets--Shef l.

C. W. BALDWIN. Hydraulic-Elevatr, N0. 127,139. Patented May 28,1872.

Zay. 1,.

K v l 4 Sheets--Sheet 2, C. W. BALDWIN.

` Hydraulic-Elevator. N0. 127,139, Patente@v May 28,*1872.

4 Sheets--Sheef 3.

C. Wr BALDWIN. Hydraulic-E1evator.

Ptentd May 28,1872.

4 Sheets-Sheet V4 C. W. BALDWIN.

Hydraulic-Elevator.

-V Patented May 28.1872..V J

Iig. 49

UNITED STATES PATENT Qrrrcn CYRUS W. BALDWIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES y WHITTIER AND HENRY H. MGBURNEY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN HYDRAULIC ELEVATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 127,139, dated May 28, 1872.

To all t0 whom these presents shall come:

.Be it known that I, CYRUs W. BALDWIN, of'

Boston, in the county of Suffolk and Oommonwealth of Massachusetts, have made an invention of certain novel and useful Improvements in Hydraulic Elevators; and do hereby declare the nature, purposes, and advantages of my said invention, and the manner in which the same are or may be carried out to be ascertained in and by the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrative thereof, and in which- Figure l is a side elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, Fig. 3 an end elevation, and Fig. 4 a vertical section of `.an elevator embodying my improvements. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section of the cylinder and valves, to be explained hereafter.

These improvements relate to hydraulic elevators, so called, in which the gravitatin g force of water is the agent employed for elevating the carriage and its load; the purpose of this invention being to raise to a certain elevation, less than that of the main head or supply, the water escaping from the elevating mechanism, and permitting this water to be utilized for the various household or mechanical necessities or conveniences, which would not be available in the lower story or basement, at which the water would otherwise remain.

In carrying out the principle of my invention, I employ one or more cylinders, open at rear, and containing each a piston and port; andI connect with the said cylinder-port, which is alternately. an inlet and discharge port, the discharging-pipe of the head or main supply of water by which the elevator is `operated, and also the receiving-pipe of the surplus or waste-water tank, which, as before premised, is situated at some point below the main head or supply-tank, and at a greater or less elevation above the basement of the building where the actuating-cylinder or mechanism is located, whether this elevation be first, second, or third stories above such basement, this height to which Iraise the waste water being governed by the weight borne by the'descending elevator-carriage; and I combine with or locate in the inlet and discharge pipe of each cylinder a valve opening upward, these valves being so arrangedl and controlled by suitable instrum entalities herein after explained, that the attendant, by means thereof, is enabled, when he desires the carriage to ascend, to open one valve, or the ingress-valve, and permit water a direction as to elevate (by details of mechanism hereinafter explained) the said carriage, the valve of the opposite or discharge-pipe, which leads to the surplus or receiving tank being at the time automatically closed, while, if the carriage is to descend, the operator, by a reversed action of the same agency, closes the ingress-valve of the .main supply-pipe and opens that of the receiving or surplus tank pipe, and permits the weight of the descending carriage, or the same and its load, to force or pull the piston outwardly, or in a direction opposite to that effected by the inrushin g water, this latter traverse of the piston driving the water contained in the cylinder before it, throughthe egress port and pipe,upward into the receiving-tank, the whole being and operating as hereinafter stated, the two valves in their mean or intermediate position, when the carriage` is motionless, being both closed; in which case no power is exerted upon the carriage, and the piston is met by a solid cushion or abutment of water, which estops its movement until a valve is opened and the water in the cylinder begins a movement.

The accompanying drawing represents at a.

a al al four upright posts, which compose in aggregate an open square, these posts, properly stayed, constituting the boundary of the carriage,77 in which the elevator-carriage shown at Atravels. This carriageAis of ordinary construction, andis composed of a horizontal platform, b, two side-hangers or supporters, c c, and a cross-head, d, the'perpendicular ways or slides7 which guide the movements of the carriage being shown at e e as applied to opposite posts a a. The suspensory ofthe carriage A is arope,f, one end of which is affixed to the center of the cross-head d, while it is carried upwardabout a pulley, g, mounted upon a horizontal shaft, h, spanning the carriage-way, and situated at the extreme upper part ofthe building the suspensory f passing about this, thence descending to the lower iioor or basement of the said building, where its opposite end is securely attached to the periphery of the drum i, which is mounted upon a second horizontal shaft, k, revolving in suitable boxes L l, upborne by the posts al al, or otherwise properly disposed. Upon the shaft k I mount a second and smaller drum, m, to the periphery ofwhich I secure one end of a rope or chain, n, the opposite end of such rope'being secured to the outer end of a piston-rod, o, which belongs to a piston situated within a horizontal cylinder, q, su'ch cylinder being situated preferably upon a level .with the shaft 7c. At one end of the cylinder q Iform a port or passage, r, which becomes alternately the ingress and discharge port, the water entering this port, and consequently the cylinder, through a pipe, s, which leads from the main supply-tank or head, which is shown at tin the presentiny stance; while the water, after entering the cylinder, is, upon a reversal of the piston, expelled through the same port, and through an outlet-pipe, u, which leads to the surplus or waste-water tank c before alluded to, the two pipess and u being each furnished with a valve, w or m, opening upward, as shown in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawing, and situated by preference immediately adjacent to the passage 7'.

rIhe stems y z ofthe valves w x rise upward through and slide within the arms a3 a of a forked standard, a2, and are provided with suitable springs, b2, to depress them upon their seats, while each is swiveled with power of vertical play at about its center to one end of a horizontal oscillating lever or working' beam, c1, pivoted to the standard a2, the arrangement of the two valves and their actuaries being such that while the descending carriage is forcing the piston in one direction, and thereby driving the water between it and the piston-head c4 outward through the valve m, passage r, and surplus-tank pipe u, the valve w of the main tank is closed, which prevents the water, in its eiforts to iind its own level, from iowin g from the greater altitude of the main tank to the lesser heights of the surplus or waste-water tank; and vice versa as the piston is moving in a reverse direction by the force of the inrushing water from the main tank through the pipe s and inlet-valve w, and thus elevating the carriage the outletvalve :v is closed, and the iiow of water thereat to the surplus-tank pipe thereby cut off. A rod or bar, di, depends from the center of the lever c1, and to the lower extremity ci' this bar one end of a long pitman, el, is pivoted, the opposite end of such pitman in turn being pivoted to the wrist-pin of a crank or crank-wheel, f1, mounted upon a short horizontal rock-shaft, g1, which rocks in bearing 71,1, applied to one of the outer posts a a, the inner extremity of this rock-shaft carrying a small drum or pulley, il, about which and a second and similar-sized drum, jl, an endless hand-rope or cord, kl, passes, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing hereto annexed, the inner half or side of such cord passing through the platform b, or an ear, b4, applied to one side support c in order to be readily seized by the operator.

While the carriage A is stationary, the crank end of such lever descends through the slotted head of the valve-stem next it without actuating this latter valve. y

The above mechanical construction of parts constitutes one methodby which I carry out the object of my present invention, and its operation is as follows: Taking as a starting point the position of the carriage A, shown in the drawing, that is as nearly or quite at the lower part of the carriageway, and with the inlet-valvewand the outlet-valve w, both closed the piston of the cylinder g, being at the entrance end thereof and uncovering the port r', the next movement of the carriage A Vmust of necessity be 'an ascent, and to accomplish this the attendant seizes and depresses the inner portion of the hand-rope k1, which effects a rocking of the shaft g1 and its crank in the direction'of its arrow to the extent of ninetyY degrees, or thereabout, such movement of the crank, by the agency of the pitman e1 and arm dl, tilting the lever c1 into a sloping position, and opening the valve-inlet w and leaving the outlet-valve x closed. Vater now rushes from the main tank t through the pipe s and open y valve w into the cylinder q, and drives its piston in the direction of the arrow placed over its rod o, this movement of the piston and rod through the aid of the rope a, drum m, and suspensoryf, effecting the ascent of the carriage A, which continues to rise until the desired elevation is reached, when the attendant seizes the cordkl and pulls upon it with sufficient force to tilt the lever c1 into a horizontal position, and thus by closing both valves, as before stated, arrests the flow of water to the cylinder, and, as a consequence, estops the movement of its piston and the ascent of the carriage. v

It the carriage is again to ascend, the attendant depresses the cord k1, as at first; but if the carriage is to descend, he lifts the cord until the crank f1 is thrown in an opposite direction to the extent of ninety degrees of a circle, or thereabout, which opens the outlet` valve w and closes the inlet-valve w, thus opening circulation between the cylinder and outlet-pipe u, and permits the weight of the can riage as it descends to drive the 'piston in a direction opposite to that which the inrushin g water effected, this return-movement of the piston driving the water contained in the cylinder between it and the cylipder-head through the outlet-port ,.and upward through the:

pipe a into the tank o, the descent of the car-V riage continuing untilit reaches the bottom `of the structure, or until the attendant. by depressing the handrope until the lever c1 is horizontal and the two valves4 closed, effects an equilibrium of pressure upon opposite sides of the piston, and allows the Acarriage to remain stationary, for the reason that an attempt to move the piston with the valves in Y ilar to the wheel j', hereinbefore named. The

this position would fail, as before stated.

To guard against accident from the inattention or negligence of the attendant as the carriage reaches the extreme top or bottom of the building, I aix to the hand-rope k two buttons or knobs, nl ln1,lthese knobs being so situated that, as the carriage arrives at its eX- treme highest or lowest position, it strikes the adjacent knob, and so actuates the rope and the mechanism connected with it as to close the two valves and stop the the motion of such carriage.

From the above it will be seen that I am enabled to elevate to the tank fv a portion or the whole of the water contained in the cylinder between its head and the piston, which was admitted thereto to effect the last preceding elevation of the carriage, and the height to which this water may be raised is limited only by the comparative weight of the carriage or the latter and its load, since so long as the latter exceeds the former the water will be elevated to a greater or less distance.

The system of operatin g an elevator-carriage, as hereinbefore explained, is not confined to conditions of head or pressure of water, as a tank of stagnant water may be utilized for the purpose by employing a steam-pump to obtain the necessary pressure, whereby the piston is actuated within the cylinder and the carriage elevated, the discharge-water simply returning to the tank to be again pumped into the cylinder. In this manner a tank of stagnant water may be used in localities having no pressure of water until the Water in such tank becomes dirty or offensive, when it is thrown away and a new supply obtained.

The practical cost in this instance of operating an elevator will be that attending the running of a small steam-pump, while I am enabled, by means of this pump or its equivalent, to avail myself of the benefitsA of an elevator of this class in localities having, as before stated, no head or pressure sufficient to actuate` it.

In lieu of the herein-described arrangement of the tilting lever c1, and its connection with the valvesV w and x as a means of operating the latter, I `have contemplated the employment of a'deviee, the nature of which isshown in Fig. 6 of the drawing, which is a side elevation of the valve-chambers, eduction and induction pipes, and cylinder-supply pipe.

In this ligure, a3 a4 represent the two valveehambers or boxes, as applied to or making part of a horizontal conduit or pipe, b3, one end of which, or that marked c3, is the educ` tion or escape pipe, and d3 the induction or inlet pipe, e3 being the'passage leading to the cylinder. j represents a vertical frame, of a nature suitable to support a vertical wheel or pulley, g3, situated alongside of the conduit and valve-boxes before named, this wheel g3 corresponding to the wheel hereinbefore named, and having the hand-rope, shown at h3, passing about its circumference, and extending to and about a second wheel situatedin manner sim` valve-stem k3 of each valve rises upward and is pivoted at its upper, end to a horizontal or nearly horizontal lever, Z3, the outer end of each lever Z3 being in turn pivoted to a-n upright post or rod, m3, the lower end of which is fixed or pivoted to the valve-box, while the inner end of each lever Z3 is fashioned intoa yoke or hook, n3 or n, represented in Fig. 6 t

of the drawing. The two hooks are disposed side by side, and when in a normal positionthat is to say, when both valves are closedare in the same horizontal plane, and are of such length that their `extremities meet and pass by each other a short distance, as shown at o3. p3 in the said Fig. 6 represents a horizontal pin or stud, which projects from the face of the wheel g3 and near its circumference, the normal or intermediate position of this pin when the valves are closed being directly be-V neath the lap of the two hooks a3 or n4.

When it becomes desirable to open the eduction-valve a4 and permit the induction-valve to remain closed, the attendant pulls upon the hand-rope in such manner as to partially rotate the wheel g3 in the direction of its arrow, the effect of which is to compel the stud p3 to `leave the hook n4 at rest, and impinge against and elevate the hook a3 and its lever, While vice versa to open the induction-valve a3, while the eduction-valve remains closed. The attendant, by means of the hand-rope h3 par a reverse or gradually-diminishing rate of movement, in order that the thrusts and noise, otherwise resulting from the sudden escape or passage of water throughone or the other of such valves, may be avoided.

` It will be seen that I accomplish this object, as the preliminary movement described by the stud psis in a path nearly parallel to the longest plane of the adjacent hook, and therefore raises the latter` and its valve very slowly, and gradually increasing in rapidity of movement until such stud has described about ninety de grecs of a circle when the valve is full open.

Claims.

l. In combination with an elevator-carriage y and mainxsupply and surplus-receiving tanks t o, I claim one or more cylinders and pistons connected with said tanks and carriage, subq and its piston, the valves w and w, and the stantially in the manner described, and procrank f and drum i', the latter being actuated vided with valves w x for regulating ingress by the hand-rope k1, and the Whole operating and egress of water, and mechanism whereby as before explained.

said valves may be operated from or by the GYRUS W. BALDWIN. carriage at any height, substantially as here- Witnesses: Y in shown and set forth. FRED. CURTIS,

2. I claim the combination of the cylinder W. E. BOARDMAN. 

